U.S. flouting U.N. Syria resolution by not reining in Ghouta rebels - Russia

Reuters Staff

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MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Monday that Washington was flouting a U.N. resolution on Syria by failing to stop rebels it controlled from launching daily attacks on the Syrian army in eastern Ghouta and shelling Damascus.

Moscow was responding to a U.S. allegation on Sunday that Russian aircraft had flown bombing missions over the besieged eastern Ghouta region in defiance of a United Nations ceasefire.

The ministry said Washington was the one breaching the U.N. resolution, saying it had done nothing to stop rebel shelling of Damascus from eastern Ghouta in which civilians had been killed.

It also said the U.S. had done nothing to stop rebel attacks in eastern Ghouta which it said had been designed to alter the borders of a de-escalation zone.

“Washington does nothing to tame militants under its control in eastern Ghouta,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russia also flatly rejected the U.S. allegation that Russia was ignoring the U.N. resolution on a ceasefire in Syria, it said. (Reporting by Polina Ivanova Writing by Maria Tsvetkova Editing by Andrew Osborn)